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TRP: Hansel and Roddy (Cellar)
Muse: at 3:31 PM Roddy was barely paying attention to the cards in his hand. He was pretty sure he had more reds than blacks, and that was about it. He kept glancing towards the door to the makeshift prison, wondering. Wondering if there was going to be more screaming? Wondering if Goro- Goro would start yelling again? Wondering when Hansel'd come out? It seemed like ages (but was probably only a few minutes) before he spotted his dad. Looking grimmer than usual, but weren't they all? "Fold," he blurted, tossing the cards to Mishka and bolting. Almost tackling Hansel as he threw his arms around the only slightly- taller half-orc. Didn't say a word yet, just- needed a minute. Izzy: at 3:42 PM Hansel only had a beat to register that Mishka and Roddy were -- playing cards? -- frankly it was just surreal to see Mishka and one of his kids spending time together, whatever they were doing -- before Roddy collided with him, knocking the wind out of him. He patted Roddy on the back (well, the shell), giving Mishka a brief quizzical look that got a shrug in response. It was all still sinking in. He was still too much in the moment, too close to the fight, to realize immediately that Roddy was probably pretty fucking upset about Goro being hosted. He'd been right there, had tried to help him. Hansel had been too far away, guarding their backs, and he wasn't letting himself think about the useless feeling he'd had when he'd glanced back and seen that fucking thing knock Goro over. Wasn't thinking about it. Didn't matter. He wasn't sure if it would help the kid at all, but he said, "Hey, it's all right, kid. This time tomorrow, everything's gonna be back to normal, all right?" Muse: at 3:44 PM "Or we're all dead or hosted," Roddy muttered, not looking up. Izzy: at 3:51 PM "Nah. Not gonna happen." Though if they were, he guessed that would kind of solve the problem, in a way. But the thought of Roddy and Nixie hosted -- and Mishka, again -- and there being nothing he could do to about it -- no, it wasn't worth thinking about. He had nothing but certainty. He hoped that had helped Goro, somehow, and maybe it would help Roddy. Muse: at 3:54 PM "Can't promise that." Even though Roddy wished Hansel could. But even with all of them doing their best- Goro had been hosted. And after Ripley had died too. Random chance and bad luck. "I don't wanna die, Hansel." Izzy: at 4:06 PM Hansel's jaw clenched. It occurred to him that he'd never actually asked Roddy how old he was, but he was definitely too young to be so genuinely concerned about dying. He wanted to step back outside and sink his trident into every goddamn thing out there that had made his kid sound so afraid. The others probably wouldn't let him do that. But unfortunately, Roddy was right that he couldn't promise anything about tomorrow. Not really. Maybe they'd all die and he'd just be a fucking liar, but he'd worry about that then. "You're not gonna die." He'd die first, but he'd found that people didn't usually find that sort of talk comforting. "If shit starts to look bad, I'm gonna do everything I can to get you out of there. You can find Jonn and he'll look after you." Sure, if they failed and Diva just kept spreading, there wasn't much Jonn or anyone else would be able to do to protect him, but -- it was the thought that counted. Because the fact was that it wouldn't come to that. Because they were going to fucking kill Diva. That was all there was to it. Muse: at 4:16 PM "Goro said 'm not supposed-" Roddy started to say before abruptly cutting off. Wait. If Hansel was saying Jonn should look after him. Did that mean...? Roddy pulled back, clutching tightly at Hasnel's arms. Frantically studying his expression. "If I'm supposed to go hang out with Jonn- where would you be?" he asked. "I don't- I want you to look after me." Izzy: at 4:25 PM Ah, shit. He wasn't supposed to pick up on that. "Well, if I --." Nah, shouldn't say if I'm dead, that would definitely freak him out. "I gotta -- you know -- see this thing through." That was what he'd told Jonn, because it was vague enough to not set off any alarm bells. "Doesn't mean you have to. I want you to be safe, and what I'm gonna be doing ain't necessarily gonna be safe." Whatever Jonn was doing probably wasn't safe either, but the little motherfucker was like a cockroach -- he was probably alive, at least, and he'd stay that way for a while. And he liked Roddy. Hansel was already making plans for this -- he'd send a note in his own handwriting along with Roddy, saying to protect him, and that would be as good as saying it to his face, and it would outweigh Jonn's desire to come find him, right? Or if not, then maybe -- shit, this must be how Mishka felt. Always making plans. It was already too stressful and he was back to just wanting to stab Diva. He could do that. Muse: at 4:34 PM Had to see this thing through. Of course, made perfect sense, it just also happened to be absolutely terrifying. "And you- you think I'm- not? I- I might not be here if Goro and Larkin hadn't- pointed out that this was our best chance at stopping Diva. I could- take this chance now when we we're at our best or- or wait when- when it's more likely to fail." He was shaking slightly. He wanted another hug. So he went for it. "I don't want any of us to die," he muttered. Izzy: at 5:07 PM The kid made a good point. They needed all the boots on the ground they could get for the first try, because splitting their numbers meant every try to would be weaker than the last. It was a basic battle tactic, but it was a lot fucking easier to put into practice when you didn't care about the people who might die in that one bloody push. Hansel tried to decide how much winning would matter if Roddy died -- if Nixie did -- if Mishka did. Shit, when had he gotten so attached? He had to stop thinking about this. Wasn't helpful. He patted the kid's shell again, grimacing now that he couldn't see it. "Well." Lying wasn't helping, either. Maybe he shouldn't sugarcoat things. Maybe they were past that. "Some of us might. All we can do is work together and look out for each other. Focus on keeping it from happening instead of dwelling on what if it does." He paused. "I'm not letting anyone fuckin' die on my watch, kid. That's all I know." Muse: at 5:18 PM Right. Some of them might- they might not have a full party after this. Roddy took a deep, shuddering breath, clinging a little tighter. "I'll help," he said, softly. He had that spell now- couldn't do much but he could get them back on their feet. They'd just do their best. And pray it goes well. Pray that none of his team would be coming at him black-eyed and Roddy'd have to put them down. "Thanks Dad," Roddy added, not yet looking up. Didn't feel- better exactly. But Roddy wasn't alone. And it helped, getting reminded of that. Izzy: at 5:34 PM Hansel pulled away and patted the kid's cheek. Wasn't used to the dad thing yet. He kind of thought he'd just imagined that when he'd been drunk -- all wishful thinking. But he was sober as hell right now. "You're gonna do great, motek." Shit, he wouldn't know what that meant. Kid probably didn't know orcish. He'd get the gist, anyway. "We're gonna be fine." Muse: at 5:50 PM END Category:Text Roleplay